Physics News

Simplified representation of the 2D magnetic phase transition. Credit: Institute for Basic Science PARK Je-Geun, Associate Director at the Center for Correlated Electron Systems and collaborators have demonstrated the magnetic behavior of a special class of 2-D materials. This is … Continue reading →

The discrepancy between the cosmological parameters in the modern Universe and the Universe shortly after the Big Bang can be explained by the fact that the proportion of dark matter has decreased. The authors of the study could calculate how … Continue reading →

MIT researchers describe a way to make atom interferometry with Bose-Einstein condensates even more precise by eliminating a source of error endemic to earlier designs. Credit: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Atom interferometry is the most sensitive known technique for measuring … Continue reading →

Laser light generates and probes sound waves in the core of a fiber optic waveguide. Credit: Yale University Yale scientists have shown how to enhance the lifetime of sound waves traveling through glass—the material at the heart of fiber optic … Continue reading →

Tetraneutron. Credit: Andrey Shirokov A research team at the Lomonosov Moscow State University, using new interaction between neutrons, has theoretically justified the low-energy tertaneutron resonance that was recently obtained experimentally. This proves the very brief existence of a particle consisting … Continue reading →

A Yale-led group of researchers has derived a formula for understanding where quantum objects land when they are transmitted.Credit: Illustration by Michael S. Helfenbein/Yale University If objects in motion are like rainwater flowing through a gutter and landing in a … Continue reading →

The strong electric field of the highly charged ions is able to tear dozens of electrons away from the graphene within a matter of femtoseconds. However, because graphene is able to transport high electric currents, the positive charge can be … Continue reading →

MIT researchers believe they have finally captured the process of quantum melting — a phase transition in quantum mechanics, in which electrons that have formed a crystalline structure purely through their quantum interactions melt into a more disordered fluid, in … Continue reading →

Microscopic image of one of the bismuth strontium calcium copper oxide samples the scientists studied using a new high-speed imaging technique. Color changes show changes in sample height and curvature to dramatically reveal the layered structure and flatness of the … Continue reading →

CERN.Credit: Image courtesy of CERN In a paper published today in the journal Nature, the ALPHA collaboration reports the first ever measurement on the optical spectrum of an antimatter atom. This achievement features technological developments that open up a completely … Continue reading →

A single nitrogen-doped graphene quantum dot with zig-zag edges. Credit: Ajayan Group/Rice University Graphene quantum dots may offer a simple way to recycle waste carbon dioxide into valuable fuel rather than release it into the atmosphere or bury it underground, … Continue reading →

This tiny radio — whose building blocks are the size of two atoms — can withstand extremely harsh environments and is biocompatible, meaning it could work anywhere from a probe on Venus to a pacemaker in a human heart. Credit: … Continue reading →

Credit: Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne A drone has been equipped with feathers to increase its precision during flight. The bio-inspired device can spread or close its wings while flying, making it easier to maneuver and more resistant in high … Continue reading →

This artist’s view shows how the light coming from the surface of a strongly magnetic neutron star (left) becomes linearly polarised as it travels through the vacuum of space close to the star on its way to the observer on … Continue reading →

A new 3-D OCT technique allows imaging of large objects such as this life-size mannequin and chessboard. Credit: James G. Fujimoto, Massachusetts Institute of Technology An industry-academic collaboration has achieved the first optical coherence tomography (OCT) images of cubic meter … Continue reading →

Image Credit:Flickr/Dano When future users of quantum computers need to analyze their data or run quantum algorithms, they will often have to send encrypted information to the computer. Because of this requirement, researchers from DTU Physics and the University of … Continue reading →

Water is unlike other substances because its solid form — like this iceberg — is less dense than its liquid form — like this ocean. Scientists are studying other weird properties of water. Credit: Wikimedia Commons Water has many unusual … Continue reading →

Left and right figures are schematic diagrams of glassy solid in two and three dimensions. Modality of the dynamics of glassy solid in different dimensions is illustrated. In three dimensions, a particle vibrates inside a cage formed by neighboring particles, … Continue reading →

Picture of the distribution of the genetic information in an Escherichia coli bacterial cell: Physicists at Bielefeld University are the first to photograph this distribution at the highest optical resolution without anchoring the cells on a glass substrate. Credit: Bielefeld … Continue reading →

Illustration of the filtering of unwanted quasiparticles (red spheres) from a stream of superconducting electron pairs (blue spheres) using a microwave-driven pump. Credit: Philip Krantz, Krantz NanoArt An international team of scientists has succeeded in making further improvements to the … Continue reading →

Step edges on topological crystalline insulators may lead to electrically conducting pathways where electrons with opposite spin spin move in converse directions — any U-turn is prohibited. Credit: Thomas Bathon/Paolo Sessi/Matthias Bode Physicists of the University of Würzburg have made … Continue reading →

Quantum droplets may preserve their form in absence of external confinement because of quantum effects. Credit: IQOQI/Harald Ritsch In experiments with magnetic atoms conducted at extremely low temperatures, scientists have demonstrated a unique phase of matter: the atoms form a … Continue reading →

Artistic illustration of “Water-Wave” Laser. Credit: Technion Spokesperson’s Office Technion researchers have demonstrated, for the first time, that laser emissions can be created through the interaction of light and water waves. This “water-wave laser” could someday be used in tiny … Continue reading →

Camera image of a laser beam in false color, which consists of photons in a superposition with quantum numbers between +10,000 and -10,000. After zooming in twice, the enormous complexity of the structure can be revealed. Credit: IQOQI Vienna / … Continue reading →

Johan Åkerman. Credit: Johan Wingborg What do fire flies, Huygens’s wall clocks, and even the heart of choir singers, have in common? They can all synchronize their respective individual signals into one single unison tone or rhythm. Now researchers at … Continue reading →

Stanford researchers led by postdoc Nariman Farsad have built a machine that sends text messages using common chemicals.Image: Standford University Researchers have built a machine that sends messages using common chemicals. Among many potential applications, this system could relay secret … Continue reading →

Schematic explanation of the world’s fastest quantum simulator. Credit: NINS/IMS Kenji Ohmori (Institute for Molecular Science, National Institutes of Natural Sciences, Japan) and a group of collaborators have developed the world’s fastest simulator for the quantum mechanical dynamics of a … Continue reading →

Astronomers observed light from a quasar 8.5 billion years after it passed through distant galaxies.Credit: James Josephides and Professor Michael MurphyClose Astronomers have precisely measured the strength of a fundamental force of Nature in a galaxy seen eight billion years … Continue reading →

The Molecular Foundry’s Edward Barnard is part of a team of scientists that developed a new way to see inside solar cells. Credit: Marilyn Chung Berkeley Lab method could help scientists learn new ways to boost photovoltaic efficiency Next-generation solar … Continue reading →

Terahertz imaging of a human hand using arrays of carbon nanotubes: (left) human hand inserted into the imaging device, and (right) resulting scan of the human hand. Scientists at the Tokyo Institute of Technology have developed a portable and wearable … Continue reading →

Macquarie University researchers have demonstrated a new technique exploiting the presence of foreign atoms within a diamond crystal, using light to affect the motion of the entire nanoparticle – opening the door to applying powerful quantum technologies to the manipulation … Continue reading →

Electron microscope image of a chromium dioxide devices based on wires. The green wire is the chromium dioxide ferromagnet. The orange wires are superconductors and are necessary to produce a superconducting current through the green wire. Credit: Leiden Institute of … Continue reading →

An integrated circuit shows the inclusion of molecular spin qubits for the implementationof entangling quantum gates. Credit: Dr. Christopher Muryn Quantum computing is about to get more complex. Researchers have evidence that large molecules made of nickel and chromium can … Continue reading →

Physicists avoid highly mathematical work despite being trained in advanced mathematics, new research suggests. The study, published in the New Journal of Physics, shows that physicists pay less attention to theories that are crammed with mathematical details. This suggests there … Continue reading →

From stationary to flying qubits at speeds never reached before…. This feat, achieved by a team from Polytechnique Montréal and France’s Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS), brings us a little closer to the era when information is transmitted … Continue reading →

The operating principle of the proposed translational photomotor. Credit: Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology A collaborative of scientists has proposed a model for a nanosized dipole photomotor based on the phenomenon of light-induced charge redistribution. Triggered by a laser … Continue reading →

Credit: NanoPhotonics Cambridge/Bart deNijs For centuries, scientists believed that light, like all waves, couldn’t be focused down smaller than its wavelength, just under a millionth of a metre. Now, researchers led by the University of Cambridge have created the world’s … Continue reading →

Two different ways the helium atom can be ionized Credit: TU Wien In the double slit experiment, a particle travels on two different paths at the same time. Something similar can be observed when a helium atom is ionized with … Continue reading →

In this test experiment fluorescence light emitted from the discharge can be seen in the center. Credit: Dr. Klaus von Haeften An international team of researchers led by the University of Leicester has for the first time observed how a … Continue reading →

The National MagLab’s new series connected hybrid (SCH) magnet successfully broke the record this week during a series of tests conducted by engineers and scientists. Credit: Florida State University After a decade of planning, designing and building, the Florida State … Continue reading →

Ground-breaking theoretical work by University of Otago physics researchers showing that under certain conditions gases can form into stable droplets – as liquids do – has now been confirmed experimentally by scientists in Germany. The latter researchers have just published … Continue reading →

Physicists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) have developed a diagnostic that provides crucial real-time information about the ultrahot plasma swirling within doughnut-shaped fusion machines known as tokamaks. This device monitors four locations in … Continue reading →

(top) Devices with one-layer and seven-layer MoS2 were built on top of a silicon base and compared. Dielectric constants responsible for the difference in electrostatic potentials are shown in parenthesis. (bottom) The device with one-layer MoS2 (inside the violet box) … Continue reading →

Scientists at Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf conducted electricity through DNA-based nanowires by placing gold-plated nanoparticles on them. In this way it could become possible to develop circuits based on genetic material. Credit: Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres Tinier than the AIDS … Continue reading →

Once a photon has ejected an electron from a helium atom, it is possible to calculate the probable position of the remaining electron. The most likely position of the electron is shown in the image as the brightest area around … Continue reading →

IMAGE CREDIT: WIKIPEDIA A new theory of gravity might explain the curious motions of stars in galaxies. Emergent gravity, as the new theory is called, predicts the exact same deviation of motions that is usually explained by invoking dark matter. … Continue reading →

By sending light through a material several times, it is possible to find a path through which much more light can pass through the material. The researchers then measure the amount of light that makes it through this path at … Continue reading →

Schematics above show light input (green) entering opposite ends of a single device. When the phase of light input 1 is faster than that of input 2 (left panel), the gain medium dominates, resulting in coherent amplification of the light, … Continue reading →

Keeping a close eye on everything: Christian Ast checks the connections of the scanning tunneling microscope (top). Researchers in the Nanoscale Science Department conduct their experiments in this instrument at lowest temperatures of a fifteen thousandth of a degree above … Continue reading →

A laser pulse hits a helium atom. One of the electron is ripped out of the atom, the other electron may change its quantum state. Credit: TU Wien When a quantum system changes its state, this is called a quantum … Continue reading →

An optical lattice lines up gaseous cesium atoms. As the lattice is shaken, the atoms are driven across a ferromagnetic phase transition.Credit: Logan W. Clark, Lei Feng and Cheng Chin New research conducted at the University of Chicago has confirmed … Continue reading →

Photons are emitted from a galaxy QSO B0218+357 in the direction of the Earth. Due to the gravitational effect of the intervening galaxy B0218+357G photons form two paths that reach Earth with a delay of about 11 days. Photons were … Continue reading →

A scanning tunneling microscope image shows two three-wheeled nanoroadsters created at Rice University and tested at the University of Graz. The light-activated roadsters, next to their molecular models, reached a top speed of 23 nanometers per hour. Credit: Alex Saywell/Leonhard … Continue reading →

James Vary, right, and coauthor Andrey Shirokov with an illustration of a tetraneutron. Credit: Christopher Gannon/Iowa State University Studying the tetraneutron, once thought unlikely to exist, may improve our understanding of interneutron forces, from unstable two- and three-neutron systems to … Continue reading →

An electron microscopy image of ordered atoms of tungsten (W) and molybdenum (Mo) against artistic representations of triangular single layer flakes of WxMo1–xS2 on a substrate. Credit: Amin Azizi and Andrea Kohler/ Penn State By creating atomic chains in a … Continue reading →

This image shows the basic setup that enables researchers to use lasers as optical “tweezers” to pick individual atoms out from a cloud and hold them in place. The atoms are imaged onto a camera, and the traps are generated … Continue reading →

A metallic sphere rising through water. Credit: The Splash Lab It’s a common swimming pool game: Force a buoyant ball underwater and let it go. The ball springs to the surface and jumps into the air. But, submerge the ball … Continue reading →

Lipid-covered hydrophobic gold nanoparticles cross the membrane. Credit: URV This discovery may raise concerns about safety of nanomaterials for public health and may suggest to revise the security norms at nanoscale bringing attention to the safety of nanomaterials in … Continue reading →

A polaron (orange) is formed amidst the electrons (violet) inside a solid. Credit: ETH Zurich / Meinrad Sidler Electrons in a solid can team up to form so-called quasiparticles, which lead to new phenomena. Physicists at ETH in Zurich have … Continue reading →

Members of the John Martinis quantum computing group (l to r) : Charles Neill, Pedram Roushan, Anthony Megrant and John Martinis.Credit: Matt Perko If you’re building a quantum computer with the intention of making calculations not even imaginable with today’s … Continue reading →

Similar shapes — structures consisting of stacked sheets connected by helical ramps — have been found in cell cytoplasm (left) and neutron stars (right). Credit: University of California – Santa Barbara We humans may be more aligned with the universe … Continue reading →

Researchers at the University of Houston have reported a new method for inducing superconductivity in non-superconducting materials, demonstrating a concept proposed decades ago but never proven. The technique can also be used to boost the efficiency of known superconducting materials, … Continue reading →

Micro drums enable a nearly noiseless measurement of radio signals. The drum is made of thin superconducting aluminium film on top of a quartz chip (blue background). Credit: Mika Sillanpää Extremely accurate measurements of microwave signals can potentially be … Continue reading →

Oil droplet in Water. Dual superlyophobic surface keeps oil droplet separate in water when it is against the surface. Credit: Xuelin Tian, Robin Ras Researchers of Aalto University have developed new surface materials that are extremely difficult to wet both … Continue reading →

Researchers have created a 3D printed cosmic microwave background – a map of the oldest light in the universe – and provided the files for download. The cosmic microwave background (CMB) is a glow that the universe has in the … Continue reading →

Credit: Michigan State University Research conducted at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) at Michigan State University has shed new light on the structure of the nucleus, that tiny congregation of protons and neutrons found at the core of every … Continue reading →

The Large Underground Xenon (LUX) experiment was one of the biggest efforts to directly detect dark matter. It was located a mile deep in a former gold mine to minimize radioactive “noise.” . Credit: C.H. Faham. Courtesy of LUX Dark … Continue reading →

Beam of light passing through splitter. Credit: Lee Henderson/UNSW Physicists at The Australian National University (ANU) and University of Queensland (UQ) have produced near-perfect clones of quantum information using a new method to surpass previous cloning limits. A global race … Continue reading →

A magentic cup-like shape, created in the 3-D printer. Credit: TU Wien Today, manufacturing strong magnets is no problem from a technical perspective. It is, however, difficult to produce a permanent magnet with a magnetic field of a specific pre-determined … Continue reading →

LLNL researchers were part of a team that demonstrated a bi-material microlattice structure, 3D printed from polymer and a polymer/copper composite material, that can flex inward, causing the structure to contract when exposed to heat over a range of tens … Continue reading →

For the first time, a team including scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have used neutron beams to create holograms of large solid objects, revealing details about their interiors in ways that ordinary laser light-based visual … Continue reading →

Image of the Greek goddess Minerva as seen under a fused silica substrate with 450 nm nanopillars on both sides (left) compared to an unstructured reference (right). Each substrate has a diameter of 25 mm, matching the size of the … Continue reading →

Schematic of the design of 360-degree tabletop electronic holographic display, the design concept of which allows several persons to enjoy the hologram contents simultaneously. Credit: Yongjun Lim, of the 5G Giga Communication Research Laboratory, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, South … Continue reading →

In a new study, researchers measure the spin properties of electronic states produced in singlet fission – a process which could have a central role in the future development of solar cells. Physicists have successfully employed a powerful technique for … Continue reading →

A close up look at the metamaterial device that can create acoustic holograms. Each grid or block contains a spiral of one of 12 various densities, each of which slows sound waves by a specific amount.Credit: Duke University New technology … Continue reading →

Assistant Professor Arkadiy Lyakh of UCF’s NanoScience Technology Center has developed the most efficient Quantum Cascade Laser ever.Credit: Image courtesy of University of Central FloridaClose A team of UCF researchers has produced the most efficient quantum cascade laser ever designed … Continue reading →

Spinning LEDs.Credit: Image courtesy of Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have made a discovery that could lay the foundation for quantum superconducting devices. Their … Continue reading →

Optical resolution is the ability of an imaging system to distinguish between closely spaced objects. In the picture, we show two points separated by the Rayleigh’s limit, as observed in the experiment. Credit: Martin Paúr – Palacký University. The resolution … Continue reading →

This image shows crystals used for storing entangled photons, which behave as though they are part of the same whole. Scientists use crystals like these in quantum teleportation experiments. Credit: Félix Bussières/University of Geneva. Quantum physics is a field that … Continue reading →

This illustration shows a qubit attached to a waveguide where light in the form of microwaves enters and exits.Credit: University of Waterloo Researchers at the University of Waterloo’s Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) recorded an interaction between light and matter … Continue reading →

Four different modes for the way a plate free falls within a fluid.Credit: Yan Wang By carefully observing scenes as simple as leaves falling from trees or dandelion seeds blowing in the wind, we can see diverse “falling styles” that … Continue reading →

Image Credit: Flickr/Blake Buettner An international team of researchers, led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), based in Gaithersburg, Maryland, has advanced their work with synchronizing a remote optical clock with a master clock by exploring what … Continue reading →

ABRACADABRA (A Broadband/Resonant Approach to Cosmic Axion Detection with an Amplifying B-field Ring Apparatus), consists of a series of magnetic coils, wound in the shape of a toroid, or donut, which is then encased in a layer of superconducting metal … Continue reading →

Using a computer-assisted wave generator, scientists produced a train of solitons in a 110-meter-long water tank in Berlin, recreating in water the mathematical results of a famous 1960s computer experiment. This wave generation was part of a project in which … Continue reading →

In (a) an originally obtained picture of a one-dimensional atomic chain is shown. The thick horizontal lines illustrate the barrier between different chains. In each chain, an atom appearing on the upper side of the thin dashed horizontal line has … Continue reading →

Professor Richard Palmer, from the University of Birmingham, with the Scanning Tunnelling Microscope. Credit: Michelle Tennison Scientists have, for the first time, identified a method of visualising the quantum behaviour of electrons on a surface. The findings present a promising … Continue reading →

The distribution of the laser intensity (orange), the foil electron and foil ion densities (gray), and the positron density (red) in the x–y plane. The laser pulse propagates along the x-axis, while the foil surface is perpendicular to the x-axis.Credit: … Continue reading →